 |
|
|
|
Free
BizPlan
|
| Signs
and Your Business
Back to Promotional Ideas
Summary
Have you considered the impact that your
sign has on your business?
This publication discusses signs, what they can do for your
business, and how they can be used to your advantage. A checklist
for ordering a business sign is also provided.
Introduction
Signs are one of the most efficient and effective means of
communication. Signs help people find you, they reach people who are
passing by your establishment, they present an image of your
business. In short, signs tell people who you are and what you are
selling.
Signs are such a powerful communication medium that it is difficult
to estimate the extent of their influence. Other media require the
directed attention of the person receiving the message. Signs,
however, can convey a message while creating a mood or feeling of
atmosphere. It is not necessary for people to give full attention to
your sign in order to derive meaning from its presence.
(Return to the top of this page)
What is a Sign?
A sign is the most direct form of visual communication available. In
fact, so many people use signs without a second thought that it is
easy to overlook their importance. When we cannot talk to other
people directly in a given location, we tack up signs: wet paint,
beware of dog, enter here, garage sale, etc. Signs are the only form
of mass communication directly available to everyone; they are the
people's street communication system.
What Signs can Do for your Business?
Signs perform three major communication functions for your business:
they give information and direction, provide a format for street
advertising, and build your image.
Signs Give Information about your Business and Direct People to
your Business Location.
Signs index the environment so people can find you. This is
especially true for travellers, new members of your community, and
impulse shoppers who may be on a journey to purchase a particular
good or service which you sell. People are mobile. A primary source
of customers for your business is the large number of people who are
new to your community or who may be just passing through. Your sign
is the most effective way of reaching this mobile or transient group
of potential customers.
Signs can correct a poor location by substituting effective
communication for poor site characteristics. If your business is
located on a site which is not visible or in a building which does
not correspond with the goods or services offered, your sign can
overcome this disability. For example, most buildings are not built
to conform to the design needs of any particular type of tenant.
Without an effective sign it is often impossible to determine what
type of business is being conducted in a given building. In
addition, when your site is located off a busy traffic artery or in
an area which is not easily accessible your sign can communicate to
people who are passing on a busy street several blocks away. If you
are located off a busy freeway but far from an exit, your sign
becomes your main device for directing people to your business.
High-rise signs are used when a business is located away from
potential customers' normal pathways of travel.
(Return to the top of this page)
Signs are Street Advertising
Your sign provides an easily recognizable display format for the
goods or services you are selling. For most businesses the street is
where potential customers are. The message conveyed on the street
reaches people who are close enough to make a purchase.
Street advertising also helps people develop a memory of your
business name and the products and services you sell. People tend to
buy from businesses they know.
Signs can build an image for your business and help you identify
with the market segment you are trying to reach.
Through materials and design, a sign can appeal to a given group of
potential customers. For example, some firms attempt to capture the
youth market, others senior citizens, others unmarried single people
and so forth. If you have a particular market segment that you wish
to attract to your business, your sign can be an important means of
bringing these people in.
The Advantages of Signs
On-premise signs are your most effective and efficient means of
commercial communication because they are inexpensive, available,
practical, easy to use, always on the job, and directly oriented to
the trade area of your business.
(Return to the top of this page)
Signs are Effective
Your sign is an integral part of your advertising program along with
the other forms of commercial communication such as television,
radio, newspapers, magazines and billboards.There are four basic
criterias used to judge the effectiveness of these advertising
media:
- coverage of the trade area;
- repetition of a message;
- readership of a message;
- cost per thousand exposures of a message.
Two other criteria important for the small business owner are:
- availability; and
- ease of use.
Let's see how signs measure to the above criterias.
Signs are oriented to your trade area. Signs do not waste your
resources by requiring you to pay for wasted advertising coverage.
The people who see your sign are the people who live in your trade
area.
Signs are always on the job repeating your message to potential
customers. Your on-premise sign communicates to potential customers
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, week after week, month
after month, year after year. Everytime people pass your business
establishment they see your sign. The mere repetition of the message
will help them remember your business.
Nearly everyone reads signs. Signs are practical to use because
nearly everyone is used to looking at them and using them, even
small children. Studies have shown that people do read and remember
what is on signs. When special items are displayed, sales increase
for these particular items within the store.
Signs are inexpensive. When compared to the cost of advertising in
some other media, the on-premise sign is very inexpensive. Table 1
indicates the cost-per-thousand-exposures for various media in a
given type of community. Unless your trade area encompasses an
entire city or region, where you must rely upon broad based media
coverage, there is no better advertising dollar value than your
on-premise sign.
Signs are available to each and every shop owner. There is no need
to schedule the use of your sign. Your sign is available to you
whenever you need it and to be used however you please.
(Return to the top of this page)
Signs are easy to use. No special skills or resources are needed to
operate a sign once it has been installed. If it is an illuminated
sign, all you need to do is flip the switches and that may not be
necessary with timing equipment. Once the initial expenditures are
made, no special resources or professional services are needed. You
need only operate and maintain your sign.
Table 1
Typical Monthly Advertising Costs of Various Advertising Media
Cost Per Thousand Exposures in a Community of Approximately 130,000
Population
|
Total Adult
Audience/
Exposures |
Monthly
Cost |
Cost to
Reach
Each 1 000
Adults |
| Newspapers (1¼ ad/wk.) |
685 000 |
$1 008.00 |
$1.47 |
| Radio (6 one-min. spots/wk.) |
91 200 |
$264.00 |
$2.90 |
| Television (6 one-min. spots/wk.) |
1 176 000 |
$1 580.00 |
$1.34 |
| Outdoor Billboard, Painted |
900 000 |
$500.00 |
$.56 |
| Junior Posters |
192 000 |
$25.00 |
$.13 |
| Sign (8'x6' doublefaced acrylic
plastic internal illumination) |
1 050 000 |
$58.33 |
$.06 |
| |
|
Sources:
Clause, K.E. and Claus, R.J. Signage, Planning Environmental Visual
Communication, Palo Alto, Calif.,
Institute of Signage Research, 1976, p.31.
(Return to the top of this page)
Checklist for Ordering a Business Sign
Before you select a sign for your business there are several things
you need to consider. A competent sign company in your area can help
you with the answers to some of these questions if you are unsure
how to obtain them.
Who are your customers?
Potential customers for your business are people who reside in your
trade area. Most of your customers come from the immediate area
within a half mile to a mile of your business location. Trade areas
come in assorted shapes and sizes depending upon the business. Trade
areas may also vary seasonally.
How do you get Information on potential customers?
Plot a dot map of your customers as soon as you begin business. This
is easily done by plotting the addresses of people who stop in your
store (and particularly of those who purchase) as a dot on a street
map of your city. Within a few months time you will have a fairly
clear idea of the trade area from which you are drawing your
customers. You will then be able to decide what type of sign would
best meet the needs of the people in that trade area. For example,
if your customers can only reach you by car or if you are located on
a very busy street, the type of sign that you use will be very
different than if you have a shopping center location and people
must walk to your store from parking lots.
Obtain your street profile from a city traffic engineer. Since your
sign communicates to people who pass your business establishment,
you can direct your message to potential customers if you know what
type of traffic passes your door. Your city traffic engineer can
provide information which will tell you: where people begin and end
their trips, how people travel, when people travel by time of day,
why people travel, and where they park when they reach a
destination. Even small cities and towns have traffic volume maps
available to tell you how many people pass by your business every
day.
Know how many new people move to your area each year. This is a
potential market for your business. This type of information can be
obtained from any board of realters, chamber of commerce or police
department.
(Return to the top of this page)
How are you going to communicate with the customers?
In order to communicate effectively, a sign must be noticeable and
readable.
A sign must be noticeable. After a while a sign becomes part of the
landscape. It loses some of its ability to attract attention. By
periodically changing some small design element or by using
changeable copy, a sign can continue to attract interest. Time and
temperature devices or rotating and moving parts can be used to
maintain interest in a commercial message. Time and temperature
units also provide a needed public service.
A sign must be readable. A sign needs to be large enough to read.
You need to know how far a person is from your store when he first
sees your sign and the real speed of traffic on your street. With
this information, a competent sign company can use a formula to
calculate the necessary size for your design and build you an
effective sign.
What are you trying to say?
Decide on a message that is clear and simple.
Focus on key words. Choose one or two words which describe your
business. Clever or strange names may only attract certain
customers.
Be brief. The cleaner and clearer the message, the more impact it
has. Listing or names or unclear symbols confuse rather than
communicate.
What image are you trying to portray?
Design of your sign is very important. Your sign tells people a lot
about your business. Stark simple design and materials may suggest
discount prices and no frills. Elegant and expensive sign materials
may suggest luxury goods and services. Two basic design
considerations are important when ordering a sign.
Physical elements of sign design. These include considerations such
as size, placement, materials and structure. The size of the sign is
an important consideration for your business. The biggest sign that
you can afford may not necessarily be the best one for your needs. A
sign should go with its surroundings. A sign which is either too big
or too small will not communicate your message effectively. The
number of signs is also important. Too many signs compete with one
another and reduce the effectiveness of your message by presenting
an image of confusion to potential customers. The materials used for
your sign determine its appearance and performance. For example,
differences in cost, appearance, color, durability, flexibility and
reaction to extreme weather conditions can be found in the many
types of plastics available. The structure of a sign also
contributes to its effectiveness. Pole covers and cantilevered
construction help portray an attractive message.
Graphic elements of sign design. Graphic elements of design include
layout of the message, colors, lettering, shape, symbolism, harmony,
and day time versus night-time lighting conditions.
(Return to the top of this page)
Legibility is a test of good design. If your sign is well designed,
it will be easy to read. Legibility means that the letters or
characters on the sign are distinct from one another. Some color
combinations of background and letters give excellent legibility
while others are very poor. To test your sign's legibility, drive
past your business and see if you can read it from a distance. Look
at it both day and night. Some signs are difficult to read because
of illumination problems such as glare from street lights, signs on
nearby business establishments, or shadows caused by buildings. A
well-designed sign blends with the environment, has a message impact
and overcomes viewing problems.
How much should your sign cost?
You should consider several factors when determining the cost of
your on-premise sign.
A sign is an investment. Your sign is one of the most permanent
parts of your business and is exposed to weather and constant use.
The average life of signs varies from five to eleven years,
depending on type of materials used, construction and other factors.
Find out how many years of service to expect from your sign. It pays
to purchase good materials if you intend to use the sign over a
period of years.
Maintenance costs. No business can afford to have its sign fall into
disrepair. A dilapidated sign tells the public that you are not
concerned with your business image or their visual environment. Some
types of signs are virtually maintenance free while others require
more attention. Find out how to replace burnt out bulbs or tubes in
your sign. Determine who is responsible if the wind blows your sign
down and someone is injured.
Energy consumption. New technological developments now enable some
types of signs to achieve energy savings without sacrificing
effects. Inquire about new energy saving bulbs and internal
materials.
Owning or leasing. Many sign companies have programs whereby you can
lease a sign for a given period of time and they will maintain it
for you. This may be more economical for a new business, especially
if there is any chance that logos or names may change in the first
few years of operation.
(Return to the top of this page)
Statistics show that if a small business fails, it will happen
somewhere between the first and second year of operation. Leasing a
sign during this period of time might help save some of the initial
capital needed for operating expenses.
Custom or standardized. Some large companies offer standardized
types of signs which are cheaper than signs which are custom
designed and constructed. Many of these standardized units can
utilize ingenious design techniques to bring forth creativity and
individuality. Often the standardized units can be arranged in
different configurations depending on your needs. Some standardized
sign units use the highest quality materials and are designed to be
relatively maintenance free. Mass production enable these units to
be sold much cheaper than if designed and produced from scratch.
Signs communicate in a shared environment
A sign's ability to send its message beyond its location requires
that you be sensitive to the effects of your message on others.
Since you share your space with others, consider their rights and
sensibilities too. They are potential customers.
Consider city or town planning goals and regulations when ordering a
sign. Some types of signs are not permitted. Determine what the
regulations are in your community before you discuss design with a
sign designer. Most sign companies are well aware of the regulations
in any given community and can guide you in selecting a sign which
is not in violation of the law.
(Return to the top of this page) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAVE 30 TO 45%!
*** Labor 3
Kit (Homeworker or Teleworker)
*** Labor 2
Kit (Salesman on Commission)
*** Policies 3
Kit (Confidential Information - Intellectual Property)
*** Internet 1
Kit (Development - Web)
*** Internet 2
Kit (Subcontracting- Web)
*** Internet 3
Kit (Hosting + E-Commerce - Web)
|
|
|
|
|
See Also
|
|
|
|
|
Search for other
Consulting Agreements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
